Eternal
by Elycain
Summary: The anticipated 13th chapter Taking Over is here. This story involves RJ and Hammy romance and is my first fic ever. Scenario:Begins when Hammy has a hard time sleeping and he isn't the only one! This is my first fanfic.
1. Goodnight

It had been another day of hard work for RJ and everyone else. They gathered double of what they normally did; all the while trying to avoid any contact with humans, dogs, and anything else that could be a problem. RJ was really adjusting to his knew home, which surprised him more than he thought it, would. Sure, he could've adjusted when he first met everyone but he wasn't planning on staying with them that was why. Everyone seemed to be happy he was finally part of the family, most of all hammy.

Hammy had never really had anyone to talk to, well anyone to really, really talk too that is. Hammy had been making the least progress at gathering food out of everyone, which was a real surprise. Hammy was usually the one getting the most food of all, especially with his super fast abilities and reflexes. Anytime someone asked him if something was wrong, hammy just shook his head and said "I'm fine" or "No, just tired". RJ wanted to believe nothing was wrong but knew that at this point everything about hammy was turning upside down somehow. RJ tried talking with hammy about it that afternoon after their all day foraging but hammy said he was fine and began acting random and hyper again. No one doubted that he was feeling better, but RJ still was unsure if he was really feeling better or if he was pretending. That was the main concern of everyone that afternoon but they decided whatever it was, it would be better if they didn't ask again, at least not for awhile. RJ had been thinking of the entire day. He relayed it in his head over and over.

The sun was completely down now, the stars and moon were out, and Verne was helping Penny and Lou tell their kids a story, Stella and her new Persian friend were cuddled next to each other talking, while ozzy and heather talked about the concept of fainting. "Ok, you three, you got your story, now please go to bed, we have a big day tomorrow." Verne had just finished telling the triplet porcupines another bedtime story, "ahh do we have to Verne?" one of them said "Yeah, your not our parents." They all laughed at that "yeah but we are; now you little youngsters get to bed." Penny, Lou and their kids went back to side of the log that wasn't full of food and got ready to nestle in for the night.

"Ok heather; tell me what you have learned about the art of faking your own death." Ozzie asked like a teacher would to a student, heather had a prideful smile come across her face "well, the first thing to do when threatened is see if you can escape but If I can't then I fall over as quickly as possible. The attacking predator will most likely think I'm dead already. "Very good heather, what do you see we get to sleep like everyone else?" "I say, I'm not tired but whatever…" they both smiled and headed off to the resting place. Hammy was trying to find someplace else to sleep, away from everyone else. This was the third time that week that hammy had done this. RJ was in his usual spot ion a tree limb. He couldn't sleep, he wasn't tired, not much anyways, RJ couldn't think of anything that would help him fall asleep. "Ok let me think, something boring, uh….sleeping…is boring." RJ had been so happy to be in a loving place for once where he had friends to talk with. He was no longer alone but it hit him that he still kept a preference for solitude.  
"Why do I stay up here?" RJ thought to himself as he watched everyone sleep closely in a group. RJ had still been sleeping alone in his usually spot on a tree. All of his friends were so peaceful and sleeping soundly, well everyone except hammy who was twitching and talking in his sleep again. RJ focused his attention on hammy, "What is with him anyways?" "He's so…different compared to the others…" As he pondered at the thought hammy began to talk out loud in his sleep, RJ jumped to the ground wanting to see what hammy was dreaming about, but the brush underneath his feet proved it would be difficult to sneak up on him quietly. RJ knew was definitely dreaming about something, the proof of that was hammy's twitching and kicking. "What are you up to?" RJ whispered in hammy's ear faintly. RJ sat next to his dreaming friend "what are you dreaming of, soda, Nacho flavored chips, cookies, or…." RJ paused "…RJ…" that sole word is what slipped from hammy's mouth leaving RJ stunned.

"Uh hammy? What about me?" RJ was really curious now, dreaming was one thing but when it's about you, well you can't help but want to know what their dreaming of. Hammy turned over and mumbled something. What RJ didn't realize is that hammy was awake now and was still trying to pretend he was asleep. Hammy thought of what he would say in his sleep, and immediately mumbled "cookies…" again. RJ sighed "well whatever, guess its nothing, I better be getting to sleep myself, goodnight hammy." RJ stood back up and walked to the nearest tree and began to climb up it and then rested in the center of its trunk. RJ didn't think much more of hammy's dream, it wasn't like he was screaming in his sleep or anything. Besides, hammy was so random while awake that RJ wouldn't be surprised if he was the same way while asleep too. Hammy on the other hand was still awake, and wanted to just go back to sleep but couldn't. Hammy looked up at the tree RJ slept in "goodnight RJ…,… I hope it really will be…a good…night…" Hammy curled up comfortably and closed his eyes hoping he would instantly fall asleep. It seemed impossible for hammy to sleep well at all anymore. "RJ, I did dream about you…, I had a nice dream…but…" Hammy stopped talking and felt his heart sink at the thought. He remembered what had been happening almost every night. Hammy was tired of it, he wanted it to end, it had to, no more pain, no more disturbing images, no more anything. Hammy only wished he had his nice dream about RJ as many times as he had….the nightmare…


	2. Haunted

"No, this can't be happening!" Hammy yelled as he watched something dark surround RJ like a whirlwind. It was his nightmare, Hammy's nightmare. Everything the dark touched had turned into a twilight reality of what was once their home. The trees were becoming dead and hard as stone as the grass was replaced with a cold rough terrain. The sun was gone and replaced with a gray and stormy sky so that not even the stars and moon were visible. Their home had become a wasteland, even worse; there was no sign of everyone else anywhere. It was just RJ, Hammy, and the dark. RJ suddenly collapsed to the ground in front of him.

"RJ, RJ come on, I'm here, just hang on…" Hammy felt he could stand up and resist the gusts of wind coming out of nowhere but only fell on RJ attempting to do so. "Are you ok? What's wrong?" Hammy said getting back to his feet. RJ twitched slightly and began to get up slowly too.

"Hammy…I…I'm sorry, but…you did this…." RJ mumbled under his breath as he stared at the ground covering his eyes. Hammy felt something sharp hit him in the chest but couldn't see what it was; it was an invisible pain coming from within him. Hammy began to breathe heavily trying to gasp for air as RJ began to hold his hand tight.

"Hammy…what's wrong…?" "Your chest is hurting…tell me…why?" RJ was looking bizarre now, his face kept distorting in weird ways as he talked to Hammy.

"RJ I can't tell you…" Hammy whispered "Why..?" RJ replied in a soft tone "Are you afraid?" he said again "Afraid…of…me..?"

"No, I'm not afraid of you but I…I…" Hammy was stopped by RJ who held Hammy's hand tight, almost painfully and looked deeply at him and whispered "You…love…me…?" in his ear which caused Hammy to shiver.

"I know what's wrong now, your chest is hurting, Hammy, do you know why?" RJ asked as he pointed at it. Hammy looked down at his chest and was terrified of what he saw happening. His chest was bleeding slowly and his white fur was becoming stained. What happened next freaked him out even more; RJ lunged at Hammy and sunk his canine teeth right into his shoulder. After a few seconds he pulled away and began licking the wounds "Do you still love me…?" RJ said as a lightning bolt scorched the sky. When the lightning stopped, Hammy noticed RJ was gone, the trees and sky were normal, and also, that he was awake. Hammy began to cry almost immediately as he awoke, he couldn't help it after all, this nightmare was worse than some of the last ones he had.

Hammy wanted it to end, but it wouldn't. Any attempt he made to wish away his own fears brought them back twice as worse. Hammy looked up at the tree RJ was still sleeping in and decided he wanted to at least be nearer to him. So he got comfortable right next to the trunk of the whole thing and did what he could to fall asleep. There was only one thought In Hammy's head: "I don't know if I'll stop feeling this way about you but…I don't want to. I don't know if these nightmares will keep getting worse but they have to stop. Whether it's a good or bad night RJ, I always think of you…good…night…" Hammy mumbled as he fell back into a sleepy slumber. Little did Hammy know, he wasn't the only one having nightmares.

"What happened to everything?" RJ said as he stared at the annihilated place he use to call his home. Everything was torn apart: the log where they kept food and the hedge was practically shriveled to nothing. Not only was that but everything else was destroyed too. It was very similar to Hammy's dream except for one thing.

"Where is everyone? Verne? Stella? ….Hammy…?" as RJ began to wonder off and search for them and suddenly felt something weird hit come over him. It was a chill, one that went from his ears to the end of his tail. He froze where he stood and slowly turned to look behind him. There was nothing. He scanned the surrounding bushes, nothing.

"Is someone there?" RJ called out to nobody.

"Why did this happen? What happened? There my friends…no…they were my…" RJ said taking in the feeling of loss with a deep breath. "Family?" RJ heard someone say. RJ looked for whoever was there but still saw nothing. The weather was surprisingly calm except a sudden drop in the temperature which quickly made RJ more nervous and alert.

"RJ…don't kid yourself…you used everyone and now you call them your family? You're pathetic, or at least you were once before." The voice said again.

"Shut up! I know what I was but now things are…different…different for the better!" RJ yelled back defiantly. The wind was beginning to howl as it slowly blew past RJ and the trees in steady gusts. RJ was preparing for anything at this point, even if that thing was a fight.

"RJ…do you know what it's like losing everything? At that moment before your eyes everything you didn't want to happen did anyways?" the voice said in a crisp eerie voice.

"Of course I do! I watched my friends get taken away and I saved them because they were everything to me!" RJ was yelling in a quieter but more serious tone now. He felt his fur stand on end as a sense of fear overtook him, he felt like he was being watched, like something was 2 inches away from him. RJ turned to find nothing there once again.

"Of course you know by now, but do you know the satisfaction of taking away everything?" RJ heard the unknown voice whisper in his ear.

"What? Satisfaction, from what?" Losing what I cared for?" RJ was confused at this point and struggled at what this invisible being was getting at.

"Of course you know the satisfaction what was I thinking, you've taken away everything more than once, from more than one person."

This threw RJ off greatly and it began to put his mind in a slight haze trying to focus on two things at once.

"You took everything from me…and NOW I'LL TAKE EVERYTHING YOU CARE FOR AND YOUR LIFE WITH IT!" RJ felt what could only be described as cold razor sharp iron being stabbed into his back. RJ fell face down in hissing pain struggling to get to his feet and evade whatever had hit him.

He turned over only and saw something nearly hit him directly and pulled back to escape most of the incoming blow to his face leaving his eyes and muzzle slightly scratched. The fur of his black mask around his eyes was now tattered and scraped which prevented RJ from being able to see clearly. All he saw was a dark figure standing over him with a lust for blood in its eyes as it swiped at him again.

RJ tried clawing at it but it seemed to go right through his shadowy attacker leaving him completely defenseless now. "RJ you will get what you deserve! THIS!" RJ saw and felt something quickly and sharply crash into his chest and knock the air out of him all at once. RJ's vision began to blur in a circle as he felt his heartbeat and body slow down. RJ fell slowly and collapsed to the ground next to his attacker. He looked up to see the blurred face of someone that made RJ almost gasp.

"…vi…Vincent…you…bastard…" RJ said breathing heavily. As some of his own blood began to choke him, RJ looked at the grey thundering sky above him that showed no sign of life or light at the moment and watched as it faded behind his eyes just like everything else that surrounded him. "WHOA!" RJ panted heavily as he awoke from his nightmare sweating slightly.

"Another nightmare?" That has to be the worst one so far, well not really… Hammy wasn't in that one." RJ sighed as he looked down to the base of the tree and saw Hammy still sleeping quietly on the ground below him. It was still dark outside; RJ figured the sun wasn't going to rise for at least 6 hours and tried to think of a way to ignore his nightmare and fall back asleep.

"Ok...it was just a nightmare, I should just go back to sleep." RJ started to feel relaxed as his eyes began to get heavier and heavier until he drifted off asleep again. Meanwhile, on the ground below, Hammy opened his eyes and looked up at RJ above him.

"What am I gonna do? I can't keep pretending to sleep every time I have a nightmare about RJ!" Hammy said to himself. Hammy couldn't go a night without having a nightmare about RJ; then again he couldn't sleep without having a nice dream about him either.

"I wonder if I can just, tell him about the nightmare and maybe…the dream." Hammy was suddenly happier just from thinking about it. The dream that he enjoyed so much, it went through his mind for a split second before he fell back asleep as well.

"What now?" RJ opened his eyes to a familiar scene; everything was covered in darkness and twilight again. The moon was blood red and as lightning began to flash it disappeared behind a cloud shaped like a skull. RJ looked down and saw that Hammy was gone, as well as everyone else.

"Hang on, this is where...gah!" RJ held tightly onto the tree as it begin to quake underneath him.

"What's going on!?" RJ frantically held onto the tree tightly nearly scratching all of the bark off one of its branches. The tree had stopped shaking for a second giving RJ a sense of relief, until thorns began to grow spontaneously from the trees bark. When they began growing close to his claws he knew he'd have to let go and fall.

"Here goes nothing!" RJ gulped and let go of the tree. He was able to escape the fall unhurt but that didn't help him deal with the bizarre situation any better than he would've if he had a concussion.

"WHY DOES THIS KEEP HAPPENING!?" RJ yelled at the top of his breath as he gripped his head in anxiety. A feeling of uneasiness came over RJ; it didn't bother him much though. The wind caused small debris and something else flying towards RJ. What felt like a piece of paper hit him in the face, when he turned it over RJ saw that it was a picture. It was a picture of him alone when he was a pup.

"Whoa…Weird…" RJ looked closely at the picture and immediately realized that he wasn't alone; he felt this exact feeling when he was attacked before. He had little time to think before something rammed against his spine leaving him with a pain in his chest. He was able to catch himself on all fours but felt himself being pushed to the ground. RJ remained still hoping it would end soon but it didn't, the fur on the back of his neck was being tugged on to pull his head up.

"Get up you good for nothing coward..." Someone said behind him. RJ didn't want to argue and slowly stood back up as he felt his fur being let go of. "Look at me…I want you to see me before I do this to you…" RJ didn't know what to think and turned his around with his eyes half closed. When he looked up, what he saw would terrify him.

"Hello RJ…" a blurry figure said to him laughing. The very person who he figured would be Vincent attacking him was in fact someone else "You're…." RJ was so freaked, he couldn't even talk. "What's wrong? Did I surprise you? Good…Now…I'll finish this…" RJ watched the nightmare in front of him pick up a golf club and swing it straight into his ribs.

"THIS IS WHAT HAPPENS WHEN YOU CAN'T KILL THE PAST RJ!" yelled the silhouette standing over him. RJ felt himself go numb, he couldn't believe what was happening, something that should've been forgotten, was back, and even worse, was killing him. The setting around him dissipated like a vapor as he woke from what was a mix of his memory and his nightmare.

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	3. Anything for You

A/N: I removed a lot from this chapter and made it into chapters 4 and 5 so that this chapter is shorter. Chapter 4 isn't anything new but I've added a lot more to chapter 5.

"Nhyaa! What? Again?" This is getting too much for me to handle, hey the suns up! Well, I mine as well join everyone for breakfast. RJ climbed down the tree and hopped next to Hammy who was already in the process of waking up himself.

"Hey uh…Hammy are you ready to go eat with everyone?" Hammy seemed to lose his sleepiness from hearing RJ's voice and quickly got in a hyper state.

" Oh sure RJ what about you?"

RJ smiled at him "Yeah…sure" RJ tried not to think of the nightmare as he continued to look at hammy "OK THEN, LET'S GO QUICK!" Hammy prepared to run but was stopped by RJ who pulled held onto him "Hey uh, can we walk instead? "You mean just for today?" Hammy looked at him with an eye raised "Err ok, that's fine with me!" Hammy's enthusiasm surprised RJ, it always did. RJ wished he could be that way, so carefree and happy but he knew he wasn't and probably couldn't be, at least not as much as him.

They walked side by side without saying a word to each other, hammy looked up at RJ and saw he was frowning, he didn't want to say anything but knew he would feel bad if he didn't. "Hey RJ, are you ok?"

RJ tried to change his worry into an optimistic look but only looked strange now "Who me, I'm fine."

RJ wasn't able to fool Hammy no matter how hard he tried. "If you say so…" hammy looked at the ground as RJ did the same "Hammy it's nothing, I just need, well, I just need…" RJ felt his paw suddenly get warmer.

"Need someone to hold your hand?" Hammy said grinning.

RJ couldn't help but smile for real now as Hammy held onto him. It didn't make RJ feel childish for doing this and he didn't think Hammy was childish for doing it either. It made RJ feel happy though, and that's all that mattered to him. Well, for maybe 8 seconds that is, RJ was suddenly reminded of his other nightmare. He didn't want to think of it but couldn't help himself and began to shiver. Hammy taking notice of this gave RJ a questioning eye "Uh, something wrong RJ, your shaking like a leaf." RJ looked back down at him trying to grin but this resulted in a creepy smile "Yeah, hammy...I'm...fine. It's nothing really..." RJ knew he'd have to tell hammy his dream eventually and couldn't help but shake a little. Hammy was meanwhile the exact opposite. He was happy for some reason, he wasn't worried too much about anything like usual.

Hammy remembered his nightmare, where he was bleeding and RJ was biting him but something kept him from worrying. It was mainly being close to RJ now took all that away, hammy knew however, that the nightmare could only get worse and needed to do something about it soon. "Hey there you two are, ready to get more food?" Verne asked them "Uh, actually we wanted to eat first." RJ said.

"Its almost noon, we can't get all the food by ourselves." Verne said taking a few steps away.

"Please Verne we're hungry!" hammy said desperately as Everyone began leaving behind Verne while they talked "Alright, its ok, you two can eat what's left in the log and we'll be back later ok?" Verne said leaving with the others.

RJ looked back at Hammy "Guess it's just you and me eating breakfast right bud?" he said Hammy smiled "Yeah I guess so! Uhh but um…RJ…"Hammy said "Uh what is it Hammy?" RJ said looking at Hammy curiously "You're still…holding my hand RJ" as soon as Hammy said this RJ quickly let go of Hammy's paw. "Sorry Hammy, hey look spuddies!" RJ ran into the log and pulled out a can of spuddies that were already opened. Hammy slowly searched through the log himself "It's ok RJ, don't be sorry" Hammy said quickly and then quietly to himself whispered "No, don't be sorry…I wish I could hold onto you all the time." RJ looked up "Huh what was that?"

Hammy snapped out of his daze "oh umm, I said I'm so hungry all the time." RJ continued eating more chips like they were the best food in existence. "You want some?" RJ said offering Hammy a few of them "oh, uhh no, I'm not that hungry." RJ was surprised at this "Really, I thought you were the hungry one Hammy?"

RJ pulled his paw back and ate the chips himself "I'm sorry RJ I think I thought I was hungry and my stomach thought I would feed it and I didn't so now it's mad at me and I'm not hungry at all now."

Hammy left RJ confused not knowing if what hammy just said even made sense "That's…ok… Hammy it's just weird that you're not hungry now that's all, its ok don't be sorry."

RJ walked back into the log look for something else to snack on. Hammy was quiet, He couldn't believe himself. He felt hungry when he woke up but that went away by simply being near RJ. It racked at Hammy's mind until he felt a deep strain in his stomach. "Guess I really am hungry..." Hammy opened a bag of nacho cheese flavored chips and began to eat them. RJ meanwhile was still scavenging through the pile of food for anything but most of what he found was already half eaten or empty.

"Hey uh Hammy?" RJ asked without even looking up.

"Yeah RJ?" Hammy looked directly at RJ wondering why RJ kept his head down "By any chance have you been having weird dreams lately?"

Hammy gulped "…Uhmmn...no why?" RJ looked up now "No reason…just curious; I mean I had a few weird dreams and just thought I could strike up a conversation to kill the silence is all."

Hammy stood still "Really? Like what RJ?" Hammy asked curiously as RJ tried to keep a meek expression.

"Well it's complicated, I mean in one you were….n't there, I barely remember what happened next myself but I don't think it's a big deal, hey you ok?"

Hammy was hoping RJ wouldn't notice his tenseness "Well I sorta really did have this dream and umm…yeah…" RJ walked up to Hammy "Let's hope it's not a big deal right?" Hammy grinned as RJ began to pat him on the back a couple of times. The bushes behind them began to shuffle and they turned to see Verne and the others walking back through the hedge.

"We're back, with some food but not as much as we were aiming for." Verne said sitting a box of cereal in the log while nearly everyone else did the same. Heather and the porcupine triplets jumped through the hedge energetically as if they were being chased by something.

"Hey RJ, Hey Hammy ready to have fun?!" one of the porcupines said running over to them.

"Uh sure but what do you mean?" RJ said as he watched "You know with fireworks, balloons, and stuff." Heather said waving a small party flag.

"We thought it would be nice to celebrate how you've become part of the family RJ, what do you think?" RJ was suddenly overcome by excitement "Really?" he said quietly "Really?! You'd do that…for me?" RJ said trying not to burst into excitement or tears. Verne started to pile the food and sort it specifically by type "Of course we would RJ; after all, you are here now and we were talking and wanted to do something good for you."

"So without delaying anymore come with us for a second over here." Verne said bringing a curious smirk across RJ's face "Hmm…Ok?" RJ and Hammy followed Verne until he stopped "Hey Verne where are we…" RJ paused as he looked at the newly decorated spot where everyone usually hung out. The T.V. was even covered in party stuff. Verne and the others were all smiling, especially RJ who was grinning so wide it looked like a hanger was in his mouth.

"YOU GUYS ARE AWESOME!" RJ yelled before exploding into an excited ball of energy that almost rivaled the way Hammy would have done.

RJ ran over to see his chair "Alright a new chair! It even matches me!" His old chair that really was really a car seat was gone and replaced with a new wooden one that was silvery with raccoons painted on it; it even had a pillow for him to lean against. "Who painted it?" RJ asked still grinning.

Hammy looked around "Gee I dunno, me I did! Do you like it?" Hammy asked almost worrying to about what the answer would be.

RJ ran up to Hammy and rubbed him on the head enthusiastically "Of course I like it, thank you Hammy." Ozzie was next to surprise him.

"Well, we wouldn't have thought of it without a good icon of leadership such as you; even less if you didn't have this." Ozzie placed a cardboard crown on RJ's head as Heather handed him a can of his favorite chips: spuddies. "Behold RJ the king!" Ozzie said boldly as he bowed in his dramatic way.

"Yeah RJ, the Raccoon king of chips burgers one of the porcupine triplets yelled as the other two jumped up and down.

"Uh burgers?" RJ asked clueless; "Oh yeah we found it nearby and heard a human say it was from some burger king" one of them said.

RJ began walking towards them and stopped at each of them individually starting with Heather. "I knight you lady heather, daughter of Ozzie the feint as the of the opossum realm" RJ said tapping her on the shoulder with the chip can. He stepped towards Stella next "Great Stella, may your overpowering scent defeat your enemies and leave your friends a bit stunned but safe" RJ boldly stuck his chest out and walked around the way a noble king would using the can of chips like a royal staff. RJ did the same thing here and knighted Stella as she was trying not to start laughing "Ok that's enough raccoon, this is getting too dramatic for me." Stella said smiling. "Just one more, ok next Hammy."

Hammy felt himself twitch as RJ put a paw on his shoulder "Ahh, my bold hyperactive friend, who is full of heart and true of word, I knight you, Hamsquad of the chocolate chip realm, guardian and second hand leader henceforth." RJ knighted hammy with the can of chips "Ok all of you can…you know…return to reality now..." RJ said watching everyone rise slowly except Hammy who jumped up and dashed back to gathering stuff for the party.

"All hail king RJ!" all three of the porcupine triplets said as everyone began to bow in front of

"Well that was interesting, wait what was next?" RJ asked taking off the crown "Oh yeah, Ozzie can you help me finish setting up everything?" Verne said.

"Hey wait don't take it off!" one of the porcupine kids said, "Yeah you gotta wear till the party is over." Continued another.

"Ok, ok, calm down I'll wear it for everyone but only till the party's over its bugging my ears a little." RJ said scratching one of them.

Everyone seemed to be busy setting up everything which surprised RJ. He was amazed at how quickly everyone forgave him and accepted him "All for me?" RJ quietly said to himself "Everything just for me, I don't think I deserve this." RJ said to himself yet again.

RJ watched everyone scurry from place to place adding more ribbons, confetti, lights, and whatever else they could to bright up everything.

"Every single one of them, giving me a home." RJ thought smiling at the sound of it "All of them doing stuff for me, Verne, Stella, Ozzie, Hammy…hey where'd he go?" RJ noticed that Hammy had disappeared from sight and ran up to the nearest person he could find. "Hey uh, Ozzie where did…" RJ was cut off by the sound of something breaking "I'm ok but this 4th of July party garden gnome is shattered to nothing now" Verne said.

"Verne I told you the gnomes wouldn't stay up like that, me and Heather already tried it." Ozzie said running over to him ignoring RJ completely. RJ rushed over to Stella next "Hey Stella have you seen Hammy?" RJ said still scanning everywhere for a sign of his orange buddy.

"Oh yeah he went to go get something; he said it was a surprise." Stella said in a clueless tone picking up some more ribbons and throwing them over to Heather.

"A surprise? Bigger than this?" RJ asked now just as clueless as Stella

"Hey don't look at me I barely understand Hammy myself."

She said trying to get back over to Heather and the others.

"Wonder what he's up too, well no use figuring this out, knowing Hammy I'll never guess whatever it is he's doing." RJ was momentarily bothered by it but ignored the weird feeling in his gut. Meanwhile something else was taking place elsewhere.

"Where is it? It should be around here somewhere….but where?" Hammy said searching through brush and around trees. "Oh hey there it is…wait what's that noise..?" hammy heard someone walking through the forest coming closer to him. Hammy didn't know if it could be danger and hid in the bushes. He heard someone continue to come closer and stop "…That's weird I thought I heard someone…around here." A strange hoarse voice said that made Hammy hold his breath "Guess it's nothing…" the voice said again sighing and walking off. Hammy waited for a sign of leave from the unknown person and got up.

"He sounded sad…wonder what he was doing around here. Wait what was I doing? Oh right I have to get back to everyone!" Hammy quickly took off leaving blades of grass and several leaves in a dusty whirl behind him.


	4. Your Secret Admirer

Back at the main hangout everyone was exhausted from their forced labor, except RJ who was sitting in his chair completely relaxed.

"You know I could've helped you guys do all that work it's not like I wanted to just sit here." RJ said sliding out of his chair onto a balloon that burst under his foot leaving a stinging sensation in it.

"Oww…that's the second time today, seriously less balloons or at least scatter some of them out more." RJ said rubbing his foot.

"Well we wanted to do the best possible job at making this perfect." Verne said in a tired hoarse voice. Everyone felt a sudden rush of wind "I'm back! Hey what happened?" hammy said excitedly.

"There you are! Hey what's the surprise?" RJ said running up to Hammy almost jumping up and down like a kid would.

"Huh oh yeah, well uh RJ…I remembered how you threw away your old golf club and everything so…" Hammy dashed back into a bush and came rushing back just as quickly.

"Here ya go!" Hammy handed RJ a golf club and a bag. RJ looked it over for a second.

"Thanks Hammy! But uh isn't this my old one?" RJ asked him curiously.

"Well yeah but I also got you the bag, look in it!" Hammy yelled overexcited quickly unzipping the bag before RJ got a chance too. RJ peered into it for a moment and pulled out a leather-bound hardcover "It's…a book..?" RJ said still unsure of it.

"You gotta open it first RJ, look inside, everyone else too!" Hammy gestured everyone else to get closer, huddling them all close together so they could get a clear view of what was on the first page. RJ was speechless by what he saw "A photo album? This is so awesome you guys! Thank you so much!" RJ said patting everyone on the shoulder and hugging them closely with one arm.

"Don't look at me, I didn't do this I was busy all day gathering stuff for this party." Heather said putting her hands out in front of her.

"Yeah me neither, I was busy getting food." Verne said next. RJ looked at them "you guys didn't make this together?" RJ said still wondering what was going on.

"Well I don't mean to brag but I did it! I made it all by myself for everybody, especially you RJ!" Hammy said prideful and satisfied. "Really, that's really…wow…thank you." RJ felt like picking Hammy up and hugging him until he was breathless but instead pulled him relatively close into a headlock with one arm and began scratching his head "You little hyperactive bundle of fur, how did you do this?" RJ said hugging him even closer almost smothering him.

"Well its not that hard really, I mean I just took some pictures of everybody and put them in the little picture slot things." Hammy said pulling away from RJ's grip for a momentary breath of air.

"I meant more like, what made you think of this?" RJ said letting go of Hammy entirely and started to look at the next page.

"Oh well…everyone was thinking of stuff for you and I wanted to do something no one else would."

Hammy couldn't help but be a little proud; he rarely had the chance to prove himself to everyone, let alone RJ.

"Jeepers Hammy this is really good." Penny said looking over a page entirely dedicated to her, Lou, and their kids.

"Isn't there any of me and my Tiger in here?" Stella said searching through the pages quickly.

"Here's one, aww you put a little heart frame around it." Stella said.

"Yeah, well I wanted to do something for all of you but its still RJ's remember." Hammy gave it back to RJ quickly before Stella was finished looking at it.

Hammy said closing the photo album and handing it back to RJ who took it gratefully. "Wow hammy that was really thoughtful of you, I would have never been able to think of that all on my own." Verne said. "Well let's not end the fun here, come on everyone lets get started with this party!"

Heather said getting back into an eager mood again "She's right, this is RJ's special day, lets make the most of it!" Stella said following after her as everyone else did as well. Before Verne did the same he stopped and turned to RJ "I hope you're enjoying this so far?" Verne asked in a confident tone. "I really am, thank you Verne, you all have given me something I thought I'd never see again." RJ grinned widely back at Verne who walked away doing the same. Hammy felt a bit invisible now as everyone was paying no mind to him or his gift anymore. RJ noticed Hammy was staring at the ground with the small photo book held in one of his paws.

"Hey are you doing ok buddy?" RJ asked as Hammy quickly looked up into RJ's sapphire eyes. He was almost entranced by them but regained his usual expression quickly "Oh, I'm fine, just tired I guess, umm yeah, tired from foraging that's it." Hammy tried to act normal but RJ wasn't buying it "You didn't forage anything today remember?" RJ was curious at why Hammy was acting this way, he wasn't himself. Hammy knew he couldn't fool RJ this time "Well, I…its just…It seems like everyone is ignoring me…and I don't want you to ignore me too." Hammy was feeling down now by what he said himself which rarely happened.

"What makes you think their ignoring you?" RJ said putting a paw on his shoulder causing Hammy to shudder a little "Well, their always doing things without me, like today, I could've helped but I didn't want to get in the way again; besides, I'm not…like them." Hammy sat down on the soft green earth looking over to where everyone was starting to get things up and running. RJ sat next to him "What do you mean? You get along great with them, and nobody says anything bad about you." RJ heard hammy scoff so quietly it sounded more like a whimper.

"I get along with them, they like me but I'm just not like any of them; I feel out of place whenever I see how different they are from me, its like I don't belong here but they still call me family." Hammy said

RJ sighed "You know…I'm the same way."

"Everyone here loves me for who I am and I really feel weird being given all of these things and being part of this, I feel…like I don't belong here either but turns out I am here."

RJ brought a smile back to Hammy's face "Your right RJ I should be happier, it's just hard you know?"

"Yeah I understand what that feels like." RJ said as he got back to his feet but Hammy stayed put "Guess we should go see what their doing now right?" RJ said stretching his arms.

Before RJ could go anywhere Hammy grabbed his left paw quickly pulling him back "Uh, will you come back?" he asked RJ in a soft voice. RJ simply nodded and walked away.

"Yeah alright, but RJ I'd like to talk to you later about something kind of weird." Hammy said getting up and beginning to walk ahead of RJ. RJ followed behind him slowly "Really, err what weird stuff?" RJ was curious sure Hammy was something else but not likely the one to talk about it

"You know stuff like uh stars and…dreams." Hammy tried not to make it sound like it was dreams that were bugging him but again RJ knew something was amiss. Hammy didn't stick around for a yes from RJ but instead zipped off somewhere else out of sight. RJ had to pause for a moment "dreams?' RJ said to himself "dreams of what?" he thought again.

RJ was no stranger to nightmares and had them often but most of them were unrelated to any actual events in his life except for the last few which revolved around Hammy and someone else who haunted him. It was someone who stayed in RJ's memory for the longest time, someone who would rarely be forgotten. "Hey RJ over here, we saved some cake for you!" one of the kids yelled with their mouth still half full of food.

"I'll be over in a second!" RJ called back to them. RJ saw that the photo album Hammy made for him was still lying on the ground.

"I still can't believe he'd do something like this for me, especially by himself." RJ said as he picked up the book and began looking through it again as he walked towards the others.

"Let's see, these are of Stella, these are Heathers, and…here it is my own personal page." RJ thought as he scanned over the pictures of himself.

"These are really good, it even seems like Hammy worked harder making my pictures than everyone else's." RJ closed it and approached Verne and the others who were sitting down in a circle.

"Ready to tell us a story RJ?" one of the triplets said "Yeah tell us more about you, like about your fam…" Heather stopped herself from finishing that sentence and muttered a soft "...sorry" quietly "I didn't mean to."

"No its ok, don't worry about it Heather." RJ reassured her.

"You guys did all this for me, its ok, you should know more about me so; I'll start by telling you about my family."


	5. Exodus

RJ readied himself to speak by taking a deep breathe in and breathing back out "Here goes, hope this doesn't bore you guys too much, the story of my family."

"_I had a small family; it was just me, my mother, and father. I also had some younger brothers and sisters but I never had a chance to really be there for them since they were younger than me and I started to live on my own pretty early. You see, Raccoon families don't spend much time together except during the winter, because it's usually too hard living alone with all the cold weather." It was nice….and warm…, there were days we would just cuddle together and watch the snow fall at night before we all fell asleep. I loved the winter, everyone would be together, nobody would argue, the smell of cold fresh air was always there; and so was he…"_ RJ paused and smiled. Everyone looked at him questionably.

"Uh who was he?" Verne asked as RJ still smiled.

"A really good friend of mine. I wish I could tell you his name but he didn't even tell me."

"Why didn't he tell you?" Heather asked him curiously

"_He didn't want to, it wasn't his thing." He called me by my name there wasn't really anyone else around for me to talk to. So I decided to go searching in the pine forest near our home and it was just another cold day, the sky was gray and cloudy, and my family had been talking about moving to a new place because it wasn't safe there anymore. It didn't matter to me; I could live anywhere, as long as we. Anyways, there was this big pine forest close to our den, and I wanted to get my last view of it. I loved it there, it was so quiet and there was this spot where a river flowed over into a pond where I usually stayed in my free time. When I finally got to my spot I sat down next to the river bed and fell asleep. Then I remember being woken up because I felt cold water being splashed on me. When I jumped up I saw another Raccoon standing close to me, his fur looked similar to mine but he had more of a darker grey color than I did. We talked for awhile but ourselves from there, he told me where he lived and I told him where I lived too, we always would hang out with each other, well until me and my family moved to a knew den. My family had been talking about moving to a new place because it wasn't safe there anymore. It didn't matter to me; I could live anywhere, as long as all of us were…together." _

"By all of us I meant my friend too, but my family was always concerned about stuff like how dangerous it was that far in the wild and that I shouldn't be friends with someone who lives in that kind of territory. "

"_At the time, I usually did what parents wanted but after a little while I couldn't help but miss seeing him all the time." So, one day I left…just for a few hours. I knew I should've listened to them; well, I know that is."_ RJ paused and gave everyone a second to think.

"What happened?" Ozzie asked totally tuned into the suspense of the story.

RJ took a deep breath "Ok to start off, this was a couple of years ago and I wasn't the type of raccoon that listened so just to let you know, I got in trouble a lot.

"_Well it wasn't anything that bad…but nothing that good either…; it wasn't like I forgot the way home but…my younger brother did. I guess he followed me, I guess he wanted to see where I was going and got lost on the way. The bad part was that I had no idea he was missing, even worse my whole family was looking for me too." We were just sitting around talking and being stupid while my whole family was in trouble. I didn't want to stay at the spring for too long and told my friend it would probably be best if I got back home. Of course he understood completely and he didn't try to make me stay. When I was finally back at home, I realized what happened. They went searching for me, I knew because we always kept atleast three people there just in case some of us needed to leave. That way, either mom or dad could stay home while the other went somewhere. It was also to keep my brothers, sisters, and me under our parent's protection. It was then that I realized what I was afraid of most, losing my family. I didn't want to even think about it and ran back outside and searched the forest for as long as I could. It didn't seem like I would find anyone until I made it to the creek nearby. I saw my friend; he called me over and with him was my little brother. He said he found him nearby after following the sound of crying coming from a bunch of shrubs next to the river. I told him about my family missing and he said they were probably still around us somewhere. I thought it was weird that he was so confident and didn't seem too worried about me finding them. It was like he knew I would. Which I did, I heard them calling out for me and my brother; I said goodbye to him and we ran off and found everyone. _

"Well that's mostly it, sorry if it was too boring."

Everyone else expected more of a story than that but RJ didn't feel like telling anymore.

"Whoa, Awesome!" one of the kids yelled jumping up and down

"Yeah RJ, that was really cool, but I wish we knew more about your friend." Heather said stretching as she stood up.

"I know but remember I didn't really know him myself." So what's next, hey it's already dark?" RJ didn't notice the sudden loss of time and felt kind of bad for using most their party time for his story.

"I think I'm going to go to sleep." Verne said leaving

Everyone else got up as well regaining the feeling in their legs. Particularly Hammy who jumped up and nearly fell over from the lack of circulation. RJ didn't mean to bore everyone to sleep but he assumed it was mostly because it was so late and they hadn't rested much all day. This relieved Hammy who wanted to spend more time with RJ ever since the party began but that was ruined by everyone else's idea of a fun day. It wasn't like Hammy was mad at them but he just didn't feel important. He felt like they left him out of everything, especially since they didn't even ask him what he wanted to do. This was his perfect chance to actually get to know RJ better away from the company of the others, besides he wanted to tell RJ more about himself as well. Sure they recognized each other as friends, but not so much as much else which Hammy wanted to change.

"Hey RJ, I thought maybe we could uh talk now?" Hammy asked hoping RJ didn't forget.

RJ quickly stood up "Oh, yeah sorry Hammy I almost forgot; hey is it ok with you guys if me and Hammy are gone for awhile?" RJ asked already leaving as he talked to him.

"Huh?" Sure go ahead, we're all pretty tired anyways, we can finish this up tomorrow." Verne said in a clearly tired and bored tone.

"Yeah lets all get to sleep its getting late." Heather said looking for a branch to hang from. Penny and Lou weren't about to object to a good sleep either and knew their kids needed sleep anyways.

"Come on you little youngsters time for bed, we got a big day ahead of us tomorrow." Penny said gathering up her kids with Lou.

"Well me and my Tiger better be off to sleepin too, see ya'll in the morning." Stella said with slight drowsiness in her voice.

"So Hammy, how's it been going for you? You know living here with them?" RJ asked still trying to find a more private place for them to talk.

"It's been fun! I mean we did nothing really but gather food but still fun!"

Hammy was trying to remain himself but quickly became monotone.

"…but we didn't have you here…, so It was boring…hey how about we go over there!" Hammy zipped through some bushes and past a couple of trees stopping in the middle of the remaining forest. RJ not being able to dash around super quickly had to catch up the hard way.

"Don't just leave me back there, jeez hammy give me a chance to catch my breath a little." RJ said pretending to breathe heavily as hammy laughed at him.

So? What exactly are we talking about here Hammy; like, cookies, candy, err…stuff like…"

"You…" Hammy said softly "Something about you."


	6. Give Unto Me

RJ wondered why Hammy wanted to talk about him but could see in His eyes that it must've been important.

"Ok, like what?" RJ said getting himself comfortable next to Hammy.

Hammy sighed "Nightmares, I had some nightmares about you…weird ones…"

RJ felt himself gulp "_Nightmares about me?" _RJ thought

"Uh how weird are we talking here?" RJ asked slowly hoping the reply he got wouldn't be similar to the dreams he himself had been having.

Hammy looked up at the night sky "It was dark, very dark…nothing was bright and happy, not even the sun. You were there; a shadow monster thing attacked you." Hammy held his breath as RJ held his hand to console him.

"What else happened?" RJ was already freaked by what he heard so far. For one, the background of their nightmares were very similar almost the same.

"….You hurt me…, you bit me…and….I looked down…your paw was…stabbing me…" Hammy felt torn inside. Just imagining it brought back his fear and pain.

RJ was stunned "_I hurt him? Why would he dream of me hurting him?"_

"Hammy its ok, look I don't know if this can help but…" RJ pulled him back into a warm hug and gently rubbed his back. RJ then began to quietly hum to Hammy hoping it would calm him down some.

Hammy began to stroke RJ's tail slowly "What's that song?" He said still teary eyed.

RJ stopped humming "Oh it's just something….when I was barely a cub my mom would sing it to me when I was crying or scared. It had words too but she usually hummed all of it." RJ was a bit teary now too, remembering his family did bring back good memories but then again it also revived the bad ones as well.

"Yeah, she sang it too us, me…my brothers and sisters, she always would." RJ didn't realize Hammy was still watching him and noticing the sudden change in the way his eyes looked.

"RJ are you feeling ok?" Hammy knew RJ had lost his previous family, even though he didn't know exactly how, he did know that it still bothered him.

"I'm fine…I just miss the good old days you know?" RJ wasn't really sad, but then again he wasn't that happy.

"What were the words like?" Hammy asked RJ still clutching onto him tightly.

"Well the only part I really remember is _"I'll hold you tight until your pain is gone, here with me is where you belong." _RJ knew this would brighten Hammy up just enough to stop him from sniffling. Hammy laughed quietly "You sure know how to make people happy again." Hammy said once more his exuberant self. He lessened his grip on RJ but still remained close to him. Hammy saw that RJ was in a daze looking into space.

"RJ…what's bothering you?" Hammy's outburst nearly caused RJ to jump.

RJ shook his head from side to side and mumbled "It's nothing…really…nothing." RJ didn't really know why it still bothered him, it was only a nightmare, but it was so real that that the feeling stayed with him.

"RJ, I know when someone's scared about stuff, cause I'm scared a lot too." Hammy said trying not to make it sound like RJ wasn't afraid the best he possibly could.

RJ ignored what Hammy said and continued to think about his nightmare: "_It was only a nightmare…he wouldn't ever come back, I know he can't." _RJ was out of his deep thought now and turned his attention back to Hammy.

"I guess I could tell you. Ok, remember my friend I told you all about? Well Vincent caused him a lot of problems, for some reason he hated him.

"It wasn't that bad though, eventually Vincent left him alone and we're able to hang out and be friends again, well for a while." RJ paused just long enough for Hammy to throw in a question.

"Hmm…oh yeah, about that, err right…whatever happened with your friend?" Hammy wanted to know the full story for himself now that they were talking about it.

"Oh him? Our friendship ended pretty roughly with us attacking each other." RJ was surprised how easy it was for him to tell Hammy something like that. It wasn't like when he was talking to everybody else. RJ didn't feel like he had to worry about the outcome of what he said.

"Why'd you fight?" Hammy was curious to know every detail and sat back preparing to take mental notes.

"Hammy I don't really feel like talking about it anymore, well at least not like this…, you see I had this nightmare….It was…about him." RJ had been keeping it to himself for quite some time. His nightmare, it haunted him nearly every night. He wanted it to end but felt it wouldn't unless he told someone. RJ hated the fact that he had to go to others for help every now and then for his problems because he usually fixed things on his own.

"Well you see, I was in my tree and it started shaking. Everything was pretty much like it was in your dream, dead looking. Then I remember being attacked by Vincent in the first nightmare, but then the second, I don't know, it kind of looked like him but I couldn't tell. I know it was only a dream, it felt so real though. He attacked me, he was…laughing...he wanted to kill me." RJ expected this to make Hammy shiver some to say the least but instead he just listened quietly still hyper and calm.

"It's only a nightmare RJ, not real. You shouldn't let it get to you, its not real, just like…dreams." Hammy said beginning to lightly rub RJ's side. RJ didn't know what Hammy was up too but he assumed Hammy was just comforting him. In reality, Hammy was doing something he couldn't openly do around everybody else. It was part of the dream he had, the dream about RJ.

"Hammy what are you….doing?" RJ asked gently putting his own paw on Hammy's.

Hammy continued stroking RJ's side almost in a trance

"I'm just making you feel better, like what you did for me."

Hammy ceased what he was doing, leaned against the ground, and began to watch the sky. What Hammy did wasn't bothering him, he even enjoyed it but he didn't understand why Hammy suddenly felt the need to help him.

"I enjoy the help but what gave you the idea I needed it?" RJ asked him again.

Hammy got up and pointed at RJ's face "Your eyes gave you away, like they always do." Hammy enjoyed seeing a look of denial in RJ's face now. RJ didn't want to deny it, how could he? He couldn't hide it from Hammy and figured it wouldn't be any easier if it were somebody else. He knew he'd have to give up on trying to deny it and just tell Hammy everything.

"So we came over here so I could maybe help you but now you're helping me?" RJ said hoping Hammy would understand it.

"Yeah that sounds about right, it's only fair RJ you helped me a lot, like a lot a lot, just like in my dream." Hammy had been wanting to share his dream with RJ since they began talking but he didn't have a good enough opportunity to do so. RJ in the meantime was still unsure of what was really going on at this point.

"I can't hide anything from you can I?" RJ said with a slight sense of humor as he rubbed his eyes vigorously.

"Nope but I guess I shouldn't be hiding anything either?" Hammy said

"Well I don't think you should be but…" RJ said two seconds before Hammy immediately said "but I am…" Hammy knew continuing to hide it would only delay what would eventually happen.

"RJ I'm having dreams about you…weird…nice…dreams…" Hammy looked at RJ deeply and felt a tingling sensation flow through his chest. RJ was the exact opposite, he was still confused about most of everything else but he knew this was something he needed to hear.

"So you had a good dream about me too? Well what was it like?" RJ asked relieved the topic of nightmares was changing to something more positive. Hammy had a glimpse of his dream flash through his head, he enjoyed the momentary memory but now he was unsure of how to describe it

"I don't know, we were you know, just close to each other. We were having fun. It was nice because well, it just made me think of how you're always there for me for real."

Hammy was starting to surprise RJ which wasn't anything different from RJ's point of view. It was Hammy, he was full of surprises and right now RJ was amazed at how serious Hammy was being about it. Hammy wasn't being randomly spontaneous, which was rarely seen by whoever else was around him.

"Glad I could help, is that all that's been bothering you?" RJ hoped it would be, and then again so did Hammy but there were still some things that Hammy felt should be lifted off his shoulders.

"I wish it was, but there are a few things I want to ask you about." Hammy was preparing himself for what he would say next, RJ was basically doing the same but nothing could've prepared him for what was coming.

"RJ have you ever liked somebody really a lot, like crazy a lot?" hammy said. RJ should've seen something unexpected coming from this but was once again confused by the random things Hammy talked about.

"Well, what do you mean a lot like Stella and Tiger? Or just liking someone for who they are?" RJ didn't think much of what Hammy was possibly trying to get at here, all he could focus on was the question. Hammy however was trying to be serious, and knew how difficult it would be to get his point across.

"A lot you know, like the kind that people get married from and have babies." Hammy wasn't surely trying to freak RJ out but it nearly came off that way.

"Oh you mean a lot as in love then right?" RJ said keeping calm about the strange situation. Hammy began to whistle and then hummed the same tune.

"Yeah, so have you?" Hammy said curiously and innocently

RJ felt compelled to say something, he didn't want to lie about something that wasn't much of a big deal before anyways and didn't want start.

"To be honest Hammy, I'm not sure; I've seen a lot of other raccoons and all and they liked me but I wouldn't say I loved them. I liked some people but I never really loved anyone, why do you ask?"

"Just wanted to know." Hammy's intention was hard for RJ to see by this point but took his word for it anyways.

Hammy got up from his comfortable spot next to RJ slowly taking a few steps forward away from him "I never really loved anyone either, I don't usually think about stuff like that, but its not like I'm going to find someone who loves me like that right?" Hammy inhaled a big breath of air realizing that he suddenly was unable to say anything at all. RJ couldn't see the expression on Hammy's face but didn't need to guess twice once he saw Hammy trembling slowly in his lower body.

"Hammy…" RJ was out of ideas. By now he needed to say something else but couldn't find the right words he wanted. Hammy was still trembling slightly but wasn't crying this time.

"It's not like there's anything I can do right? I mean, I'm not cool like Heather or smart like Ozzy and Verne. I can't take care of everyone like Penny or Lou, I won't find someone as easily as Stella and I'm not as brave and strong as you are RJ." Hammy shook his head quickly trying to rid possible tears from surfacing in his eyes. This gave RJ an idea that would hopefully fix a problem before it starts.

"Yeah, but nobody is like you, your Hammy, you know you're different." RJ tried saying it the most positive way as possible but Hammy's view on it was totally opposite.

"I know that's what is so bad." Hammy said

"You know, I like you because your different, it would be boring if you were like everyone else." RJ said

"Hmmn, ok, if you like me this way then I do too!" Hammy said jumping up and wrapping his arms around RJ.

"Your welcome, now can we forget about all this?" RJ asked

"Ok! But now we gotta fix your problem!" Hammy said pointing at RJ

"I don't have a problem Hammy, lets go." RJ said eagerly starting to leave. Hammy thought for a second and knew for sure what it was

"Aha, this is about your friend! I get it he did something bad and you don't want him to do it again right?!" hammy said causing RJ to stop walking. RJ looked up and sighed.

"Yeah…he did…he left…my family and me for dead…." RJ said slowly. "When I needed his help...he left...

Hammy felt his heart sink and gradually fill with regret.

"..I'm sorry…I shouldn't have even brought you here…it's all my fault…like usual. I'll leave; I guess I really am stupid…" Hammy said full of anguish now.

"Wait, don't just go. It's not your fault really…I shouldn't have mentioned him, don't blame yourself." RJ said pulling Hammy back to him.

"Ok, I won't…." Hammy said starting to regain his keen self

"Good, let's just forget about all the bad stuff right now." RJ said back to normal himself. "What do you say we go back and get some sleep like everyone else?"

"Actually I'm really tired…can't we just sleep here?" Hammy said yawning and starting to stretch.

"Alright, that's fine by me, where?" RJ said looking around for the best place.

Hammy however, already had the best place in mind "How about right here? Close to each other? I mean, we'd be warm and the grass is real soft." Hammy said patting on the grass.

"Anything is fine as long as its comfortable I guess, just let me get settled." RJ said curling himself into a suitable position as Hammy did the same.

Both of them were snuggled closely to one another and ready to crash for the night.

"Guess this is goodnight huh buddy?" RJ said flicking one of Hammy's ears.

"Yeah, I think it is." Hammy said closing his eyes. There was no doubt in Hammy's mind that he would sleep well. After all he knew that soon, he'd be asleep. With RJ there, his fears were gone and now could feel himself slipping into his blissful dream again.


	7. Imaginary

Hammy could feel himself drifting off now. He was being overcome by the power of sleep more and more with every second that passed. It wasn't long before Hammy was in the mist of slumber and began to drift deeper into a dream. He couldn't see much except a white fog that made him feel woozy. "Hmmn…clouds…" Hammy said gently starting to fall through them one at a time. Now Hammy was trying to snap out of it and get control. "Ok...I want to stop now…clouds….stop…making…me…fall...please." He said desperately still continuing to gently fall. It seemed to go on forever until finally Hammy stopped.

"Finally…" Hammy said with a yawn. He was still dreaming but felt like he was awake. Like nothing was different despite where he was at. Suddenly Hammy felt his fur being tossed gently by a breeze of air. It wasn't anything at all like the wind in his nightmare that tore everything apart, if anything the exact opposite. It was smooth and light rather that rough and violent. The air seemed to be stirring the fog away from him. Little by little the fog dissipated into nothing until Hammy could see where he was. "The hedge? Why am I here?" Hammy said aloud. "Uh is anybody here? Someone, anyone, hello?! Yoohoo! Somebody there?! It's me hammy!" Hammy's voice seemed to echo into the distance but nobody answered in return. Nobody was there. Hammy was about to ask again until the wind picked up again. It was stronger but still lightly ran through his fur with a smooth touch. The feel of it reminded him of something, something he longed for at that moment.

"Mmmnhh….RJ…." Hammy moaned "So soft…and warm…" Hammy was overcome by this feeling inside of him. It was like his whole body became comforted from it. Anytime Hammy thought of RJ, he felt better. It was like he could anything.

"..I'm right here Hammy…" came a voice from behind him. Before Hammy could turn around he felt two arms being wrapped around his chest and felt a soft chest touch his back. "RJ…" is all Hammy could say. RJ rested his head on Hammy's shoulder and began to hum. It seemed to make the calm and blissful atmosphere around them even more tranquil. RJ then stopped abruptly and started flicking Hammy's tail lightly. "Hey why did you stop the song?" Hammy asked pulling his tail back gently from RJ's grip. RJ eyed him playfully "I told you that's the only part I remember." RJ said now trying to grab Hammy's tail again. Hammy began to pull it away in different directions to see how long RJ would keep this up. "Too slow!" hammy said teasing him "Now I'm too fast! Come on almost got it!" RJ jumped at him only to miss. "I thought you'd do better! Here try one last time."

Hammy said offering his tail empty handed. RJ however didn't plan on missing this time "Aaannnd got ya!" RJ said tackling Hammy to the ground. Hammy squirmed some but RJ held him tight. "Hey go easy! It's just my tail!" Hammy said in fatigue. RJ looked at him eye to eye "I didn't aim for your tail that time." RJ put a paw on the side of his face and patted it "I was going for your mouth." RJ said passionately. Hammy could feel himself well up inside from this strange feeling in his chest. He didn't understand it fully but didn't care. All he wanted right now was love, nothing else. "Oh…why didn't you say so?" Hammy said lightly pressing his mouth to RJ's and then pulling away a few seconds later. RJ stayed still. "Here Hammy…" RJ said pulling him closer "Like this…" RJ had his mouth locked to Hammy's again, except this time RJ was going to make it last. Hammy could feel warmth fill in his entire mouth and then vent down his entire body. He pulled RJ closer until they were both on the ground. They could feel grass starting to form underneath them as they did this. Hammy needed to breathe but didn't care. Both of them were consumed by each other and neither seemed to show the slightest sign of stopping. This was Hammy's dream, his paradise. What he wanted more than anything in the world was happening to him. "RJ…more…" Hammy begged him by grabbing him from behind his ear and pulling him onto his chest. RJ did so gratefully and began to gently lick Hammy's chest before kissing him again. The mist seemed to slowly fade in and out now. It would surround them and then dissipate again. This seemed to go on forever but eventually it stopped and the grass and trees remained visible. When it did Hammy simply fell over RJ and took a second to breathe. "RJ…" Hammy said softly stroking his face. RJ felt out of it himself but it wasn't for the same reason. Hammy looked at RJ eye to eye and kissed him. The strange white mist is all Hammy could see now. He felt himself sleeping, sleeping in a dream. RJ felt as light as air himself and didn't where he was at all.

"Mnnnnh…..where…am…I…" RJ said as he felt himself float in midair. He couldn't see much, everything seemed to be shrouded by the dark. "Did I die or something this is really freaking me out." RJ said floating all the way down and stopping on a smooth surface.

"Ok weird…feels like…water…but it's smooth" RJ said sloshing his hand around in it. RJ stood up and walked on it still unsure if it would stay safe enough for him to do this. "Hey you're awake!" Why did you sleep for so long?" "Yeah lazy bones get up!" "Think he ate something bad?" "Nah he's just tired from yesterday, he'll be fine." RJ still couldn't see anything at all but heard several different familiar voices around him. Then a white sphere seemed to illuminate the darkness surrounding him and revealed a multitude of faces surrounding him. "You guys…you're all…here…" RJ was seeing his old friends. Not necessarily family, just old friends he could never forget but feared they would forget him.

"All of you…here…" RJ was overcome with joy from the sudden reunion. The memories he had of each of them came rushing over him. RJ looked at each friend one by one, paying close detail to every facet and feature of his long lost allies. "I can't believe this…even….you? What are you doing here?" RJ regained his ability to move and immediately jumped up.

"Me…I came here for you…like I promised I would…" RJ's other friends seemed to vanish into nothing as the sole entity remained with RJ face to face. RJ didn't know what to think of this, he didn't even know the guys name let alone much else.

"I don't even…why are you here?" RJ asked again suddenly on guard.

"I told you…I'd come back for you…I know you didn't forget why…" the unknown raccoon said drawing nearer to RJ.

"I said I'd repay you for what happened…and I intend to do so…"

"Hey what are you…doing…" with that being said RJ suddenly felt something being pressed against his mouth. Something Then he could see nothing but a white blur again, enveloping him until the falling sensation took over him again.


	8. Forgive Me

Hammy felt his fur tingle as the white shroud began to appear and disappear again. It swirled into a dense fog around him leaving RJ out of his sight.

The second it was gone Hammy looked around till he saw RJ laying next to him still.

Hammy didn't want the fog to interrupt again so he took his chance and kissed RJ once again.

RJ didn't seem to mind but the reason wasn't clear until Hammy looked down at him and RJ looked up.

The moment was more awkward than ever.

RJ was wide eyed from the mouth service Hammy was giving him.

It was now perfectly clear to Hammy what was wrong.

He wasn't dreaming anymore, he was awake.

Not only was he awake, so was RJ and they were mouth to mouth.

Hammy immediately pulled away giving RJ a second to breathe.

Hammy took two steps back and assumed a guilty expression.

RJ's expression however remained the same.

Surprised is all RJ could be.

He couldn't say anything at all, leaving his mouth open as wide as his eyes.

Hammy felt even worse now, and could feel himself break inside.

"I…RJ…I…I'm sorry, I don't know…I was just…I didn't…" Hammy began moving away even more now trying his best not to look at RJ who was still speechless.

"RJ...I'm sorry!" Hammy yelled as took off in the opposite direction. Hammy wanted, no…needed to run away. It was the only thing he could do to escape this.

He didn't want this but knew it was all he could do.

Facing RJ would be impossible now.

There was nothing he could say to fix this or even lighten the situation. The only thought that raced through Hammy's mind was to run. He just ran as fast as he could through the forest that was only a blur from his point of view. He came to stop at one of the tallest trees there and looked it over. The stems were rather sharp and the bark was thick like stone.

"Perfect….I'll stay here…" Hammy said crawling into an orifice in the tree.

"Here's…some leaves…and…there…" Hammy said piling a few leaves against the wall of the trees interior. He arranged the leaves so it would be comfortable as well as warm enough for the rest of the night.

"RJ…I'm…so sorry...


	9. Missing: Part one

The mist of night engulfed him entirely now. Hammy was now fully asleep and peacefully at that. Surprisingly he wasn't dreaming nor having a nightmare at all, he just slept. The expression his face wore while asleep was entrancing almost seductive in a dreamy sense. To those who pay attention that is.

"Wow…look at him sleep. Poor guy, wish there was something I could do to make him feel better." RJ continued to stare at Hammy who breathed quiet whispers of breath as he slept. _He's so…calm... How does he do it?_ RJ could only peek into the tree and watch from the outside. The tree's cranny was too small for RJ to crawl into himself and even if it wasn't something would nag him about it anyways. "Well…Goodnight Hammy, I'll see you tomorrow." RJ said discontinuing his viewing session to go back towards the log to get some sleep himself.

_Then again, I could just sleep here. It's perfect, and then I can fix everything when we wake up first thing in the morning! _RJ prided himself with the idea and scaled to the top of the tree with much ease.

_Now, back to sleep I don't even want to worry about this stuff anymore. A dream like that is best forgotten, I don't need that keeping me down when I have something worse to worry about.. This will fixed soon and then I can live normally for a change. Still, I have a funny feeling about all of it. Ahh, what am I saying!? I need to sleep, that's all. Just think of…sheep? Or something else just as boring. Ok grass, it's green and smooth and it tastes like wet plastic. It's soft…just like…him._

RJ recalled the memory of Hammy kissing him which then sent a tingle all through his body. Not only did it do that but it woke him up completely. _Yeah, as if I couldn't sleep already I definitely can't now. Why is this keeping me up? It was only a dream, and then it was only a kiss. A kiss with Hammy that is, a kiss…with Hammy. This is going to be a long night and an even longer morning. _

Everything fell silent as the night tide took over and everything seemed to sleep. Everything from RJ to the trees seemed to be in a state of sound rest. There was something about night that brought out a feeling of comfort. All the while darkness had an eerie sense to it but something caused that feeling to go away. For Hammy that is.

"It's so quiet now...perfect timing. I don't know anymore…I have to do this. Will they even care much? Maybe…but I'm not waiting to find out. I've made up my mind…it's the only way." Hammy said crawling out from inside the tree. His fur still ruffled some and his eyes still felt groggy but he forced himself up.

"This is it…I'm leaving here…now…" Hammy dashed through the remaining forest towards the suburban area but instead of taking the usual way he chose another.

_I can't go that way; someone might wake up and see me. At least this way nobody will know where to look. This gives me enough time to find a new place to stay for the night. I'll miss you RJ…more than anyone else, but I don't want you to hate me! I have to go; it's the only way to keep that from happening again._

The home he knew was beginning to disappear behind him. Hammy didn't even realize how far he had gotten until he stopped to catch his breath.

"…Almost gone…just a little further…and I won't need to worry about this anymore."

_I hope. Bye Verne, Bye Stella, By Ozzie and Heather, Bye Penny and Lou and Spike and you other two, Bye…RJ… I'll miss you…"_

The silence of the night seemed to grow even quieter in that one moment. Hammy realized he may never see any of his friends again and with that realization he took every bit of regret he could find with him. The scene of a suburban town was in perfect view; the houses and buildings began to sparkle strangely as the moon shed light on them. "This doesn't look so bad…Just need to find a good place to sleep!" Hammy said trying to lighten himself up about it.

He spied a streetlight and then quickly scampered to the top. Hammy knew he needed to find a place quickly before the sun rose. "Aha that's perfect!" Hammy said running back down the post. "Right across the street and into that weird tree." He said continuing his venture through the town streets.

"WHOA!" Hammy yelped as a car came zooming towards him at high speed. Hammy felt his heart nearly jump out of his chest as it barely missed him. "Whew…that was close…what's wrong with those humans?" Hammy said only seconds before the car rammed into another. Hammy quickly jumped off the street and darted into the tree he spotted earlier.

"Oh my god!"

"What happened over there?"

"I don't know."

Several different voices began to fill the air; killing the peaceful silence. Hammy watched from the tree as more and more people began to crowd the area. Seconds later, an ambulance appeared on the scene and with that came two paramedics with a stretch board. Hammy was silent, before his eyes was the dark side of man. The side he knew very little of but didn't want to know much more.

"Everyone get back! The car is gonna blow!" yelled one of the officials. Following his voice were the frightened voices from the crowd.

"Wait my little girl is still in the car! Please you have to help her!"

"Mommy!" "Mommy!" shrieked a voice from the inside of the car. A man quickly rushed up and began to beat open the car using only his bare fists. Regardless of the burning temperature he continued to fight to get the door open.

"Sir get away from there now! There's no time!" yelled on of the paramedics.

"No I have to get here out of there!" the courageous man yelled back at him.

The car door finally budged open allowing him to pull the little girl out from the inside.

"Hurry get to your mother!" he said pushing her quickly away from the flame vehicle.

Just as the girl was out of harms way, the car exploded. Its flames engulfed the man who saved the little girl; taking him with his heroic deed. All was silent again. The fire from the accident began to fade. Hammy was overcome by what he just witnessed. Not only was Hammy forced to face pain that originated from himself but he was also forced to see the suffering in human society firsthand. He could even feel the heavy feeling in his eyes again. He wanted to cry but couldn't. It was as if every drop of tears his eyes could have shed were being shed in his heart instead. There was a heavy tug in his chest now; it made him feel cold. It grew worse when he saw the sad look on the little girls face.

"Mommy…I was so scared…"

"I know…you're ok now…"

"What about that man…will he be ok?"

The mother looked to see the scene of a outline being drawn on the street and a sheet being placed over any human remains still visible.

Hammy fell backwards at gripped his chest tight. Nothing could prepare him for the pain he was feeling inside. It overtook him so quickly it felt like he was being choked by it.

Hammy curled up and covered his head with his paws. All he wanted now was sleep. No thinking, no dreams, no anything. Sleep was the only thing he could yearn for now.

"I never want…to see that…again….ever…" Hammy said in a muffled whisper. He closed his eyes hoping that he would forget all the pain he just experienced. It seemed to work like usual. The night silence allowed him to escape the human suffering he knew but that left plenty of room for something else he feared to resurface. It wasn't like Hammy could prepare for it. He had kept this at bay for some time but somehow the pale vision of his vague nightmares would be with him tonight.

_Hammy!_

_He's over here._

_Are you ok?!_

_No! Leave them alone!_

_What are you waiting for? Get out of here right now!_

_I have to…do something…_

_There it is!_

_NOOOOOOOOO!_

Hammy awoke horrified by the images that just flashed through his mind. It was another nightmare; fortunately it ended as quickly as it began. On the downside, it was unfortunate for Hammy to have to go through so much fear in a matter of seconds.

"…No...Not again…" Hammy breathed. It was still dark out; the moon was still visible as well as the stars. Hammy was afraid to try and go back to sleep. It was like his nightmares had affected him more and more each night.

_I don't like it here; everything is so…scary. Even the humans are scaring me already._

Hammy wondered if humans were even capable of doing something good. He was always taught they were dangerous but he didn't know they could be that dangerous.

_Then again that one human saved that little girl. He couldn't have been so bad…maybe some are good…after all. If RJ were here he could tell me all about humans; he's probably seen humans do worse than this. _

Hammy closed his eyes again preparing for the knockout of sleep. Before he could even think twice he was punched hard with the fist of slumber and was once again asleep. He wasn't the only one however; RJ was still soundly tucked away in the tree sleeping quite well for once. Nothing interrupted his time of shut eye at all. For the rest of the night, he was at peace. For the most part anyways; after all, it had to end sometime.

"…Its morning …?." RJ yawned "Man I need to go to sleep earlier." RJ climbed back down the tree. He looked in the tree to see if Hammy was up yet.

"That's weird, he's not here anymore." RJ said looking over the inner part of the tree carefully.

"He probably got up early so he could get something to eat with the others. Well no sense in wasting time here. I have to eat sometime too." RJ said stretching his arms out fully before taking off towards the log where everyone else slept. Verne was already up like usual trying to get everyone else awake just as quickly. Heather and Ozzie were pretty much ready for the day but that was different for the kids who were always the last to get up.

"Come on, Spike get up, you two also." Verne said before seeing RJ approaching. "Hey there you are. Can you help me with them?" Verne said as RJ nodded agreeably.

"Alright everybody up and at 'em! We got to get ready for today's food heist!" RJ announced loudly. Everyone suddenly jumped up with brimming morning energy that for all Verne could tell was created by RJ's strong willed voice.

"Thanks RJ. I don't get it, why don't they listen to me like they do you? As soon as you tell everybody to get up they act like a bucket of water was throne onto them." Verne said stressfully tired still. RJ pat him on the back of his shell

"You need more energy Verne. Just give you're voice some more power and you'll be fine. You can tell someone what to do and how to do it all the time but they always listen best when the leader commands with a powerful voice." RJ said boldly.

"I've never heard that saying before. No wonder they listen, you still know what you're doing I'll give you that." Verne said watching everyone else get into their own daily routine.

"Don't worry about it, just practice giving commands. That way you can always know what needs to be done when something happens. Well what's for breakfast?" RJ asked beginning to scavenge through the log.

"Let's see…spuddies…empty…empty…oh hey a cookie!" RJ said. He was about to bite into it but stopped.

"Speaking of which have any of you seen Hammy? He wasn't sleeping when I woke up and I thought he might've come by here." RJ said as everyone looked back at him in confusion.

"I haven't seen him. I figured he was just sleeping late back there when I saw you." Verne said suddenly worried. RJ was as well but by a whole lot more.

"Well he has to be here somewhere. I saw him last night in the thicker part of the forest way back there." RJ said as a few of the others gasped quietly. RJ looked at them completely clueless trying to figure out what the big deal was.

"What is it? Did I say something?" RJ asked as Heather and Stella whispered quietly. RJ wanted an answer but nobody was giving it to him.

"Verne. What's up?" RJ asked Verne quickly and sharply. Verne sighed.

"Are you sure he was back there?" Verne said quietly.

"Uh yeah, why?" RJ said

"Well…Hammy said he would never go into that side of the forest again after what happened." Verne said trying to get more breath to speak. RJ did believe it was strange that Hammy would want to sleep in such a darker part of the forest like that. In fact it gave him the creeps thinking about it.

"What happened? Come on you can tell me right?" RJ said with a genuinely trusting expression.

"You're right. We can trust you now; it's only fair that we let you know." Verne said without doubt.

"What already?" RJ said almost impatiently. Verne took a deep breath and looked directly at RJ with full seriousness before speaking.

"That side of the forest…is where Hammy's real family was killed."


	10. Missing: Part two

(I may add more to this part but I'm not sure. Enjoy this new part of "Missing" of my story! Also, "Missing is divided into different chapters but it's essentially all one part.)

"I …I'm sorry for asking." RJ said taking a heavy breath. "I didn't know..."

"No, don't be sorry. It's better that you know now rather than having to hear it from Hammy himself right?" Verne said as RJ shrugged.

"I guess. Man poor Hammy; it must have been rough for him, living alone like that." RJ said as the sun gently warmed his face.

"Just like you huh?" Heather said unexpectedly. RJ looked at her with a sudden discontentment. She gulped and gave a low "Sorry" at this.

"Just don't mention that now." RJ said shaking his head. "We have bigger problems now." RJ said looking immediately back to Verne.

"Hammy's gone. He wasn't in the forest. I came here to find him and obviously he isn't here." RJ said. Verne grew worried at hearing the sudden news.

"Where else could he be?" Verne asked trying not to sound too nervous.

"I'm guessing he ran away; Verne I'm almost positive that's the case." RJ said looking strictly at him without blinking.

"First of all, you still haven't even explained why he was in the forest. Second, why would he ever want to run away? He's surrounded by friends who love him right?" Verne said as everyone nodded in agreement with him. RJ looked down trying to find the right words.

"Right…of course we do but isn't it possible something could make him think differently?" RJ asked with tenseness in his voice. This made Verne suspicious; not specifically of RJ just more of the situation.

"It would have to be really bad to make him go sleep in that side of the woods and it would have to be even worse to get him to run away." Verne said as RJ felt his pulse quicken.

"Don't worry he can't be that far away. I'll go find him, right now." RJ said taking off back towards the dense forest.

"Hey wait shouldn't we help you!?" Verne said following quickly.

"No! I mean. No. We don't need anyone else getting lost. Trust me I'll be back by sundown; just wait here in case Hammy shows up." RJ commanded without waiting to hear a disagreement from anyone. RJ ran as much as his body would allow through the dense forest around him. Everything seemed to blur out of vision except for the only thing he could think of.

_Hammy where are you? Where?_

It was all a question of where. Where was he? Several different scenarios seemed to flood through RJ's mind at once. The possibility of him being hurt or even worse dead. As soon as RJ looked up to the midday horizon it him. RJ stopped dead in his tracks to catch his breath that steadily returned.

"Of course…the suburbs…" RJ panted. "He probably ran into town last night."

"You're probably right about that." Another voice said. RJ turned to see a weasel standing with a arm rested against the side of a tree. He had a strange color, dark red with a slight hint of grey. His eyes were fixed on RJ and he had his mouth slightly open with a toothy smile. RJ felt uneasy at the sight of the weasel's fangs that were sharp enough to rival his own.

"Who are you?" RJ asked remaining cautious. The weasel grinned more.

"Hmmm…why do you need to know?" he replied.

"I don't…I need to be somewhere else right now..."

"Lose something?" the weasel piped up. RJ gave him a curious look.

"Maybe…why do you need to know…?" RJ mimicked him carefully and watched the weasel's unnerving expression.

"I don't…I need to be somewhere else myself right now…I just thought…maybe you lost something." He said now mimicking RJ's tactic and looking as smug as ever.

"It doesn't concern you so why do you care?" RJ demanded but kept his voice at a low tone. The weasel gave a more deviant look now rather than a smile.

"Obviously it concerns you so I'm curious…what are you searching for? A friend maybe?" he said slyly. This made RJ worry about Hammy more. Hoping that Hammy didn't run into whoever this weasel was.

"Maybe. What are you up too? Do you know anything about my friend?" RJ said. The weasel ceased grinning to take a serious approach.

"The one that was crying and then zipped away from here like a bullet? Not really, all I do know is that he was wining about something. Not like I care, I have better things to do than speak with a raccoon like you." He said in his hoarse monotone.

"Like me? What are you talking about?" RJ said. The weasel however backed away and shuffled slowly back into the dark side of the woods. Out of sight now, RJ wondered if he had anything to do with Hammy's disappearance.

_That guy better not have layed a claw on Hammy. Then again, he couldn't have. All he said is that he saw Hammy crying and then just as quickly ran off. No, if he wanted to hurt Hammy he would've but why was he just standing there like that in the first place? What do I care? RJ get a hold of yourself, you need to go find Hammy and he needs you. Now!_

RJ once again looked ahead at the end of the woods. Even though the hedge was still the way to the primary suburbs, at this end of the hedge everything looked like downtown type suburbia. It was basically the same type of houses and buildings just not nearly as full as the other side of town.

"Great, for all I know he could be anywhere out there." RJ said. He sat down to rest before preparing himself for a vague realization.

_This is where I used to live. Before I met Hammy and everyone else. It still hasn't changed at all. The same trash, the same bad air, the same everything. It's my entire fault this happened; Hammy…I hope you can forgive me._

The sound of someone screaming caught RJ's attention.

"AHHHH!!!!! It stole my cookie!"

"It's just a squirrel. Wait isn't that the one that attacked you before?"

"YES NOW GET IT! KILL IT OR SOMETHING!" shrieked a young female voice.

RJ hurried to see two people running in circles around a orange blur.

"Is that Hammy? It has to be! Hang on buddy!" RJ said jumping through the hedge and hurrying to the scene. Before he could do anything else Hammy was already out of sight. Even worse he was now in the middle of the same problem he just watched Hammy escape from.

"Is that a raccoon? Eww get it away!" one of the girls yelled. RJ dodged the best he could. The soles of their shoes barely missing him by fewer and fewer inches each time.

_Geez! Give me a break! I just barely got here!_

RJ managed to find enough room to get out of harms way. The two human girls didn't dare follow him for which RJ was thankful. Unfortunately, Hammy was once again gone.

RJ looked at his surroundings to see if he recognized any of it. He hoped for a familiar sign or tree.

"Right…let's see…there has to be something around here I remember…"

He gave a second glance and noticed the side of a particular building.

"There it is! Ahh…my old attic hangout. That means I'm in the right place! Just need to relocate a few other places and I if I'm lucky I'll be able to find Hammy in no time." RJ's enthusiasm was short lived however and replaced with a crude sense of failure.

"You would at least expect something new here. This place hasn't changed much at all. The same houses by the same streets with the same screaming kids who climb that tree." RJ said in a bored voice.

_Since when did I start being a poetic raccoon? _

RJ didn't want to stay the night here. He realized the only way he could get anything done was by looking for Hammy. Though he hadn't given up yet, it still seemed so impossible.

"He could be long gone by now…" said climbing through the broken window and making his way onto the roof. RJ then began to climb down the rain gutter onto the ground. The streetlights were all on by now. He walked down the sidewalk trying to see another sign of his lost friend but found none. He did however notice a paper that blew towards him and stopped near his feet. It read "Lost: 2 people." It included pictures of them with bits of information. RJ read it over "A reward will be offered along with great recognition if you know anything concerning these two missing people." RJ said aloud before dropping it back to the ground.

_Reward huh? Just finding Hammy would be good enough for me._

_I know I can still find Hammy but…does he want to be found?_

RJ heard the sound of a vehicle getting closer and hid in a nearby bush to avoid any contact with humans. It was a police car. It parked in front of a house nearby RJ who wanted to get a closer look for himself

"Hmm, looks like the humans in this town are up to no good again. Too bad they're too dumb to stop getting in trouble." RJ said as a police officer approached the house and began to knock on the door.

"Yes? Oh hello officer. What brings you back here?"

"It turns out the what happened last night wasn't an accident." The officer said gruffly "We didn't realize this until after the accident yesterday. We would've told you then but you had already gone.

"What do you mean? The car wreck?" she asked quietly

"Yes…but the explosion is what our concern is. Someone deliberately started the fire immediately after the wreck. For all we know they were responsible for all of it. What we do know however that someone was trying to kill you and your daughter and we need you to come down to the station just to be safe for tonight. Do you understand?" he said in an authority given voice. The woman took a moment to look around and then she looked back In her house to see her daughter walking down the stairs. Her daughter was sleepy eyed and had a stuffed animal in her hand.

"Mommy…" the girl said softly "Can I sleep in your room today? The whisper monster keeps waking me up." The mother picked up her daughter and rocked her back and forth as if she was still a infant.

"Sweetie we're going to stay somewhere else tonight ok?" she whispered.

"Who's the whisper monster?" The cop asked curiously.

"It's just Ally's way of describing the wind. She can't sleep well when it's breezy outside."

"I see." The cop said "Now shall we go?"

"Give me a second to turn out the lights and I'll be right there." She said walking back inside with her daughter. RJ watched as a few windows turned from luminous to dark. One by one every light in the house was going down until there was nothing left but the dark. Seconds later the mother and her child were seated in the police car with the officer and eventually drove away until RJ could see them no more.

"They can't be that dumb if they keep each other safe…" RJ said to himself.

_If only I always did that. Then maybe…I would still have my family…_

RJ didn't need to remind himself any more of what happened. It was now stuck in his head forever. Even though he knew things could be worse, he still wished they were better.

"Man where is Hammy!? He has to be here, he just…has to be…somewhere." RJ felt his throat weaken as a terrible feeling hit him.

_Hammy…where are you? This isn't how I want everything to end. No…it can't…It can't! I have to find you…_

"I have to find you!!" RJ yelled into the night air. He began to run in the open everywhere. He ran down the sidewalk, in the front and back yards of houses and even in the middle of the street. He searched every little thing that could attribute as a hiding place for a squirrel. After much searching with no results rj could feel his breath begin to wither away from his lungs. He panted for what felt like hours but in reality they what was merely seconds.

_He has to be…somewhere…Hammy…I don't want to lose you the same way I lost my last friend…_


	11. Missing: Part three

…_what happened…?_

…_don't worry Hammy…you're alive…barely…_

…_Verne…? Hey where is my family? My mom and dad… and my little sister…_

…_Hammy…they aren't coming back…they were…killed._

_WHAT?! NO! They were right there with me. They couldn't be…they…_

_Hammy it'll be alright really. I mean…we'll take care of you._

_I don't care…I want my mom and dad! I want my sister!_

…_Hammy please…don't do this…_

_Just leave me alone…let me sleep…_

Hammy jolted up so quickly he nearly fell over. He saw the early red appearing in the sky and realized it was nearly morning. It was obvious his dreams weren't about to go away any time soon. Hammy figured the worst ones were long gone but he was proved wrong every time he slept.

"Why…do I keep remembering this?" Hammy breathed "I don't want this to happen anymore…I just want…to go home…" Hammy closed his eyes and breathed deeply.

_I want to go home. I don't want to stay here…but…I have to…just for a little while…maybe…I can get used to this…_

Hammy knew nothing could get him used to living this way. He knew that unless he went back home he'd never be happy. He also realized he'd have to face his worst fear…himself. Hammy knew RJ would confront him about what happened before as soon as he arrived.

"Can I really do this…every day?" Hammy asked himself. "No…you can't…just like before…I have to…I have to go back…now!" Hammy said jumping up. He slipped down the tree and retraced himself back to the road he came on.

"Alright…I'm going to do this…RJ…I'm coming home…" Hammy said dashing back towards the hedge and away from the city.

In the meantime Verne and Ozzy were already wide awake trying to figure out what was taking RJ so long to return.

"Maybe RJ and Hammy are sleeping back in the other end of the forest again." Ozzy said optimistically. Verne rolled his eyes knowing that couldn't have been the case.

"Fine; let's say they are sleeping. Wouldn't they tell us they're back? Wouldn't RJ want us to know? After all he did say he would be right back and look he still hasn't. So if you are so confident then explain that." Verne said.

Ozzy looked at him and silently agreed but didn't want to. Ozzy wanted things to turn out for the best with any situation. He often was against thinking negative about most situations but he couldn't help it this time.

"Even so…I hope things get better. Heather is really worried about all of this herself." Ozzy said.

"Really like how?" Verne asked curiously.

"Well…I think she has a bit of a…crush…" Ozzy whispered.

"She has a what?" Verne said quickly again.

"A crush…on RJ…" Ozzy said "She's been worrying quite a bit about him.

Plus she is always complimenting his leadership skills, saying how cute he looks, and how perfect he is." Ozzie said in frustration.

"Wow, what are you going to do?" Verne said

"What? There's nothing I can do about this. Not that It bothers me much." Ozzy said trying to be enthused.

"Really?" Verne said surprised.

"Yeah, I just don't think things would work out between them is all. Heather is getting too caught up with RJ that she can't focus on what she really wants. I mean I would understand if it was Hammy; he's more...of her...type...I suppose" Ozzy said.

"Or maybe you just aren't happy about the thought of her...with RJ?" Verne said.

"That's not it at all. I mean…she shouldn't rush into things like this especially since…" Ozzy

"You disapprove right?" Verne said. Ozzy sighed and shook his head.

"It doesn't matter now. She has already fallen for him. We'll just have to see how this turns out." Ozzy said. "Hey here she comes could you let me talk to her alone?" Ozzy asked quickly and Verne just as quickly returned to the log where everyone else slept.

"Hey dad is there any good news?" Heather asked.

"Maybe not now…but I'm sure RJ will show up soon…I'm sure that will…make you happy right?" Ozzy Said. Heather looked at him almost as if he was stupid and smiled "Uh...Yeah. Why wouldn't I be?" Heather said.

"I'm not saying you shouldn't be. I mean we all want him to come back and everything but it's just so…unusual that you would be in love with him." Ozzy said

"Why? Is it because he's a raccoon?!" Heather said loudly.

"Calm down. I didn't mean it like that…" Ozzy said

"Look dad, I like RJ a lot alright? A difference in species shouldn't mean I can't be in love with him!" Heather shouted. Ozzy looked at his daughter in contentment before hugging her briefly.

"You're right..." Ozzy sighed "Love isn't something with limits. I guess species doesn't matter... but what about RJ? Have you thought about how he would react? Have you found a good way to explain your feelings to him yet?" Ozzy said.

"Uh…right. Err…thanks…dad. I have to go now." Heather said taking off into the opposite direction. It was obvious to Ozzy that she hadn't thought of anything and to his luck was relieved by this.

"One problem solved…" Ozzy whispered to himself. He stared at the brightening sky and took a breath.

_Heather loves RJ…isn't that a surprise. Not really now that I think about it. She always seemed fond of him but I didn't see this coming…I don't know why…but I feel like Heather is meant for someone else and RJ as well. I sure hope I'm wrong though…I don't want Heather to lose this opportunity but other things might be ruined if she does. Either way…it looks like someone is going to be hurt…and I have a feeling...that it's Hammy..._

Hammy began to feel more and more afraid as the sunlight vanished slowly in the east. He felt himself shiver a few times as he recalled what happened his previous night in the city. The scene of the fire stuck in his head, the screaming and the blood followed. It haunted him like nothing else had in a long time. He relaxed himself in a sleeping position in the center of the tree he had stayed in upon arrival. Rather than immediately close his eyes he looked up at the sky. Hammy watched the stars steadily crown above him. One by one they appeared, some more brightly then others. It calmed him seeing this for whatever reason it was.

_What's wrong with me? Why do I feel this way? I don't want RJ to hate me but I can't stop thinking about him…I…can't_

Hammy pictured RJ's face appearing in the stars above him. It entranced him like nothing else. He could see RJ look back at him and then he disappeared. Hammy rose up and shook the sleepiness away.

"…maybe…I can go home…" Hammy muffled under his breath "or maybe….it's too late…what if RJ already told everyone about what I did and now they are all afraid of me…" Hammy said with a melancholy that was reflected by a tear appearing in each of his eyes. He fell backwards and allowed himself to shed the streams of sadness that withheld in his eyes. He didn't whimper aloud but instead was crying more on the inside. The starlight grew luminous as the moon began to rise into the now darkened sky. It made his tears appear like drops of silver. Silver that shattered on the tree beneath him.

_RJ…what have I done…?_


	12. Missing: Part four

…_what happened…?_

…_don't worry Hammy…you're alive…barely…_

…_Verne…? Hey where is my family? My mom and dad… and my little sister…_

…_Hammy…they aren't coming back…they were…killed._

_WHAT?! NO! They were right there with me. They couldn't be…they…_

_Hammy it'll be alright really. I mean…we'll take care of you._

_I don't care…I want my mom and dad! I want my sister!_

…_Hammy please…don't do this…_

_Just leave me alone…let me sleep…_

Hammy jolted up so quickly he nearly fell over. He saw the early red appearing in the sky and realized it was nearly morning. It was obvious his dreams weren't about to go away any time soon. Hammy figured the worst ones were long gone but he was proved wrong every time he slept.

"Why…do I keep remembering this?" Hammy breathed "I don't want this to happen anymore…I just want…to go home…" Hammy closed his eyes and breathed deeply.

_I want to go home. I don't want to stay here…but…I have to…just for a little while…maybe…I can get used to this…_

Hammy knew nothing could get him used to living this way. He knew that unless he went back home he'd never be happy. He also realized he'd have to face his worst fear…himself. Hammy knew RJ would confront him about what happened before as soon as he arrived.

"Can I really do this…every day?" Hammy asked himself. "No…you can't…just like before…I have to…I have to go back…now!" Hammy said jumping up. He slipped down the tree and retraced himself back to the road he came on.

"Alright…I'm going to do this…RJ…I'm coming home…" Hammy said dashing back towards the hedge and away from the city.

In the meantime Verne and Ozzy were already wide awake trying to figure out what was taking RJ so long to return.

"Maybe RJ and Hammy are sleeping back in the other end of the forest again." Ozzy said optimistically. Verne rolled his eyes knowing that couldn't have been the case.

"Fine; let's say they are sleeping. Wouldn't they tell us they're back? Wouldn't RJ want us to know? After all he did say he would be right back and look he still hasn't. So if you are so confident then explain that." Verne said.

Ozzy looked at him and silently agreed but didn't want to. Ozzy wanted things to turn out for the best with any situation. He often was against thinking negative about most situations but he couldn't help it this time.

"Even so…I hope things get better. Heather is really worried about all of this herself." Ozzy said.

"Really like how?" Verne asked curiously.

"Well…I think she has a bit of a…crush…" Ozzy whispered.

"She has a what?" Verne said quickly again.

"A crush…on RJ…" Ozzy said "She's been worrying quite a bit about him.

Plus she is always complimenting his leadership skills, saying how cute he looks, and how perfect he is." Ozzie said in frustration.

"Wow, what are you going to do?" Verne said

"What? There's nothing I can do about this. Not that It bothers me much." Ozzy said trying to be enthused.

"Really?" Verne said surprised.

"Yeah, I just don't think things would work out between them is all. Heather is getting too caught up with RJ that she can't focus on what she really wants. I mean I would understand if it was Hammy; he's more...of her...type...I suppose" Ozzy said.

"Or maybe you just aren't happy about the thought of her...with RJ?" Verne said.

"That's not it at all. I mean…she shouldn't rush into things like this especially since…" Ozzy

"You disapprove right?" Verne said. Ozzy sighed and shook his head.

"It doesn't matter now. She has already fallen for him. We'll just have to see how this turns out." Ozzy said. "Hey here she comes could you let me talk to her alone?" Ozzy asked quickly and Verne just as quickly returned to the log where everyone else slept.

"Hey dad is there any good news?" Heather asked.

"Maybe not now…but I'm sure RJ will show up soon…I'm sure that will…make you happy right?" Ozzy Said. Heather looked at him almost as if he was stupid and smiled "Uh...Yeah. Why wouldn't I be?" Heather said.

"I'm not saying you shouldn't be. I mean we all want him to come back and everything but it's just so…unusual that you would be in love with him." Ozzy said

"Why? Is it because he's a raccoon?!" Heather said loudly.

"Calm down. I didn't mean it like that…" Ozzy said

"Look dad, I like RJ a lot alright? A difference in species shouldn't mean I can't be in love with him!" Heather shouted. Ozzy looked at his daughter in contentment before hugging her briefly.

"You're right..." Ozzy sighed "Love isn't something with limits. I guess species doesn't matter... but what about RJ? Have you thought about how he would react? Have you found a good way to explain your feelings to him yet?" Ozzy said.

"Uh…right. Err…thanks…dad. I have to go now." Heather said taking off into the opposite direction. It was obvious to Ozzy that she hadn't thought of anything and to his luck was relieved by this.

"One problem solved…" Ozzy whispered to himself. He stared at the brightening sky and took a breath.

_Heather loves RJ…isn't that a surprise. Not really now that I think about it. She always seemed fond of him but I didn't see this coming…I don't know why…but I feel like Heather is meant for someone else and RJ as well. I sure hope I'm wrong though…I don't want Heather to lose this opportunity but other things might be ruined if she does. Either way…it looks like someone is going to be hurt…and I have a feeling...that it's Hammy..._


	13. Taking Over

(New chapter yay…anyways I have good news! Since I finally finished the rough draft of the story on notebook paper I have more time to type. Hope you all love this chapter too!)

It had been a long and freezing night as usual and RJ was on the verge of giving up.

He rested on the inner part of a tree trying desperately to think of sleep.

Instead he kept thinking of Hammy but that wasn't all RJ had his mind on other things as well.

…_Everyone I knew…everyone I love…they all disappear because of me. Why can't I keep what I care for safe? I always screw stuff up when everything is perfect…and then…gray…just gray…all around me…I can't see…and then…you are there…_

RJ closed his eyes and inhaled the crisp wind that rustled the trees in the area. He lay on one of them staring at the pale crescent moon. It had been days since he first began his search for Hammy and things still hadn't lightened up.

_He doesn't want me to find him…does him…what not answering…?_

RJ stared blankly at the stars above him and sighed "I guess not…you never did… that's my fault isn't it?"

_Not that it matters…you hate me don't you? When we met I knew you were something special but after that day…when you tricked me…you helped them attack my family…and then I remember you saying "Try not to cry when I do this…" and then I felt something hit me and everything turned gray._

Something wet slid across RJ's face. It was rain. The clouds began covering the moon until a dim hue was all that was left in the sky. RJ wasn't bothered much about the weather which was unusual considering most animals avoided cold stormy weather.

The wind picked up too and stirred the leaves above RJ violently; RJ found himself smiling.

"Finally something interesting…all we need now is some thunder and lightning." RJ mumbled. It wasn't two seconds before a fiery bolt scorched across the sky and a quake of thunder shook RJ's bones along with the tree under him. "Perfect…" RJ said.

_Well almost perfect…I wish you were here…you and Hammy…_

RJ gripped his chest and felt something come over him.

"Why…don't you leave me alone…?" RJ whimpered "Hammy I need you here…now…"

There was lightning flashing through the sky, more thunder and several gusts of wind every five seconds.

It was raining heavily now; RJ felt drops of ice rain crash down onto his furred face causing his eyes to sting.

_You never get enough…you want me to remember you…_

RJ felt his eyes close and slowly dozed off to sleep. The rain had slowed down enough to where the tree could shelter RJ from the storm's onslaught. RJ curled up and covered his eyes with both of his paws "I just wish…you hadn't done that. Why did you turn on me? All I wanted was to help you…but I just made it worse…" RJ's body finally gave in to sleep and collapsed lazily.

_Just forget it…forget all about it…nothing can change that now RJ…just sleep._

_I have to go do something and I don't want you to follow me this time…_

_Hammy…Hammy how are doing? Look things could be worse…I mean…we could've lost you…_

_But you didn't! I KNOW! I wish I did die so I wouldn't feel so bad! _

_Hammy you don't mean that do you?_

_YES I do! Why wouldn't I? My family is gone Verne! How should I feel!?_

_Not like this…look this wasn't your fault…just calm down…_

_Not my fault? If I hadn't run off this wouldn't have happened!_

"Was it really all because of me?" Hammy asked himself. "No…but it sure feels that way…" Hammy breathed. He had taken shelter under a cardboard box that was already worn down from the rain but it was sturdy enough to stand.

"Gah it's freezing!" Hammy shuddered "Why can't rain be warm?" Hammy's fur shook as he attempted to warm himself using his tail.

"I'm ok…I just need to wait this out until the sun rises…" Hammy couldn't see much from inside the box but the barely visible fading stars suggested that it was at least a little past midnight. Hammy curled himself up and rested his head on his paws. This was what he wanted or at least that's what he kept telling himself.

_I really am stupid…how could I do that? Then…run away…I'm stupid…_

At that moment something slipped through the back of Hammy's mind

_You can't do anything…cry…you know you want to…do it…_

_No…_

_DO IT! OR I'LL MAKE YOU!_

_NO!_

Hammy snapped back to his senses and regained his sense of being.

"I'm not going to be that way anymore…I'm not stupid…but staying this way is…" Hammy could hear wind rush against the side of the box he lay in. Thunder began to start up again but it wasn't like that of a storm. Instead it was the relaxing kind; the peaceful type of weather that Hammy actually liked.

"The air is so cool and …it's just like…RJ's breath"

Hammy could feel his heart begin to beat heavily. Hammy slowly got up and lifted the box of off himself.

The rain fell quickly but landed softly; Hammy watched as everything in the suburban area was gently touched by the drops of water.

The lights were surrounded by vapor which gave them a misty appearance.

The streets soon became full of large grey puddles and the wind caused them to ripple every few seconds.

Hammy took a few steps and stopped in the middle of one.

The puddle stirred under his soft feet as Hammy shook from the lowering temperature.

He looked down at his reflection and gently stirred the water.

_I can't stay here…_

_But this is where you belong!_

_No it isn't I want to see more than this!_

_There is nothing else out there for you!_

_Yes there is! I'll show you!_

_Did you find anything…?_

"Yes…I did find something dad…and now I'm going to get it back." Hammy said before dashing off.

_I lost my family when I first ran away…I won't let that happen again..._


End file.
